Friday, October 2, 2009

Daisy was my border collie. We got her as a pup and she was the last one in the litter, blue-eyed, sweet-tempered, and mischievous. For 6 years we had her and those 6 years were all the better for it. Why? Just her presence. She wasn't a licker. She wasn't a barker. But she loved affection and showed affection. I loved the adoring way that she looked at me when I was busy doing something else. I loved the way she anticipated going on a walk with me and trying to be patient while I rounded up all the things I needed. I loved how she refused to put a space between myself and her when I was hiking with anyone else but her. She would always always take her place directly in front of me. I loved how I never ever had to worry about aggressive behavior toward anyone as I was out doing my thing in a park, on a trail or on the road.

In early August of this year, I got a comment that she was looking thin. I had never really noticed, because we fed her well. I thought that the reason she turned down her food is that she was hot and just wanted to keep the fat off for coolness' sake. But it got me to wondering. I started watching her and noticed that she wasn't as energetic as she should be. Soon I really noticed it, especially after taking her to a dog park in Sandy and all of the dogs there ran heads and tails all over her. She was really a sedate little dog. And then the kicker. She collapsed on her legs. I saw it, it was ever so little, she got right back up, but no, this wasn't good. She was at the vet a couple days later. Well, after a few hundred dollars, we found out the diagnosis. I worried about heart worms. I know that dogs get them back east. That proved to be unfounded, since there are only a handful of cases here in Utah. But it was just as, if not more serious. She had Lymphoma. It is a very aggressive form of cancer that dogs can get. After that, she declined so rapidly that it was astounding. I have never seen anything progress so quickly. We put her down 4 days ago. She was sweet to the very end and I'm glad that she saw her family surrounding her those very last moments. I will always think of Daisy as my little sweetheart. Believe it or not, we already have another border collie. Her name is Evie and she is 10 months old. She has a few issues and needs a bit of rehabilitation. She has taken to Greg immediately. She and I haven't hit it off so well. I really miss Daisy. We'll see how this goes. Time will only tell.

Oh Helen, I am so sorry to hear about your dog. Border Collies are a special breed. And yes, they REALLY connect. This brought tears to my eyes as I read this as I was thinking about my border collie, Kallie, who we had to put down a year ago. You can read it here. http://thedarringtonsplace.blogspot.com/search/label/KallieMy thoughts are with you Helen...and with time...it does get better.

I'm so glad you blogged about this, did I ever tell you about the letter Mom wrote to me in college when they had to put Duke down? Dogs are the best kind of friends, Daisy will be missed and she had a good friend and master in you.